Lessons Learned: Top Vehicle Buying Mistakes to Avoid at All Costs

It is easy to get carried away with the moment when you are standing in the showroom looking to buy a shiny new car that you have been thinking about for some time.

Absolutely nothing wrong with buying a new car if that is what you want to do of course, but there are number of mistakes that are too easily made if you don’t prepare yourself for getting the car and the deal that you really want.

Do your research

It is always a good idea to do some research on the car that you are thinking about buying before you commit to a purchase.

Check out things like Dodge service costs and other running cost figures for the model or band that you are interested in, so you know what to expect to be paying to run and maintain your vehicle once it is yours.

If you are buying a used car privately, you will need to take your research a lot deeper than simply deciding what color and interior options you want.

Taking shortcuts on your research is a fundamental mistake which could far too easily come back to haunt you at a later date.

Always focus on the car window sticker price

Another common mistake that many of us tend to make far too often, is to base our purchasing decision based on the monthly payment rather than focusing on the car window sticker.

The monthly car payment is obviously relevant to your decision to go ahead and buy a car but what you have to be mindful of is what the total amount you will be paying to own the car at the end of the finance deal.

If you bought a car valued at $25,000 over a five year term for example and compared the monthly payment to a deal to buy a $16,000 car over three years, the payments would be quite similar each month, but the overall difference in your total costs is huge.

If you have a budget of $20,000 or whatever figure you have in mind, this is what you need to negotiate with the car showroom and not the monthly payment figure, which can all too easily hide the true cost of your new car.

Be careful with upgrades

Some car showrooms will consider the sticker price for a car to be the starting point and they will then look to try and persuade you to add a host of extra features and add-ons that can soon push the purchase price a lot higher.

If you want leather seats or a top-of-the-range sound system in your car, there is often a fair chance that a number of these upgrades could soon add up.

Try to negotiate a deal that includes some of your chosen extras within the original price or consider if you really want to pay for some of the options or whether you can do without them.

Purchasing a car is a big financial decision, so learn from the lessons of car buyers who have been there before you and prepare your facts and figures before you turn up at the showroom.

Having made a few mistakes of his own along the way, George Murray has taken to blogging to share his tips and tricks on saving money on all things car related. His articles mostly appear on personal finance blogs.